Three Years and Five Months
by Lyralocke
Summary: Kataang. Three years and five months of space separate Aang and Katara when he suddenly returns to the South Pole, and nobody knows what it will take to bridge the gap.
1. Chapter 1

_So apparently me and oneshots just don't mix anymore. This was originally meant to be a oneshot, but... it got longer. Now it's six chapters. They aren't horribly long chapters, nor are they irritatingly short. Though the last one is really short, just kind of an epilogue or something like that. Uh... anyway..._

_I won't do any explaining about the plot; I'd rather let the story speak for itself. So anyway, enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

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CHAPTER 1

Sokka smiled when he saw the great city of the Southern Water Tribe rising before him from the ocean of the South Pole. He pulled his canoe up on the snowy shore, hefting a damp bag full of fish over his shoulder. The snow crunched under his feet as he walked toward his home. While he was growing up, the South Pole had been a cluster of igloos. But, since Master Pakku and the other waterbenders had come four years ago, a great city had risen in its place.

Since the war had ended three and a half years ago, the gates were always open. The Southern Water Tribe welcomed any and every visitor. However, Sokka stopped in his tracks when he saw a young man standing before the open gate, staring into the city. He wore bright yellow and orange robes, held a tall staff in his hand, and was completely bald.

Sokka dropped his bag, sending dead fish sprawling over the snow. The sound caught the young man's attention, and he turned around quickly.

"Hey Sokka," he said quietly, giving him a nervous smile and a little wave.

Sokka stared at him, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly. "Aang?" he said at last. "You've... grown." He stepped toward the young Avatar. Sure enough, Aang was nearly as tall as Sokka.

"So have you," Aang replied. Sokka had grown into an imposing man, six feet tall and rippling with toned muscles.

"How've you been?" Sokka said coolly. "Haven't seen you in a while. Three years and five months, actually."

Aang looked down uncomfortably. "Look... about that, I'm really-"

The young man didn't get a chance to finish, because Sokka had moved in a flash and sent him sprawling with a cruel uppercut to the jaw. Stars flashed before Aang's eyes as he sat up, rubbing his chin.

"I guess I deserved that," he muttered, looking up at Sokka, who was standing over him with his arms crossed angrily over his chest.

"You deserve a lot more than that for what you did, Aang," Sokka growled, glaring at him. "I don't get it. Why would you just leave like that? You didn't even tell anyone. You were just gone when we woke up." Aang didn't say anything. He slowly started to get to his feet. Sokka continued. "We'd stopped the war; the world was going back to normal. You were happy here, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was, but-" Aang began quickly, but Sokka cut him off.

"Katara was happy," he said coldly.

A heavy silence fell between them. Aang looked at his feet. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"She hasn't been the same since you left," Sokka said quietly.

Aang looked up at him. "How... how is she? Is she... engaged or... anything?"

"Practically every man in the Water Tribe has proposed to her, but she's turned down every one," Sokka replied. "Gran Gran was mad at her for a while, but she figured out pretty quickly that Katara was waiting for you to come back."

"I never wanted that to happen," Aang said desperately. "I mean, we were never... we weren't... we were always just friends."

Sokka looked at him levelly. "You've always been in love with her, Aang. Don't pretend I don't know that. She figured it out too. She was just waiting for you to do something about it."

Aang looked down again. He was at a loss for words.

"You took a big part of her with you when you left," Sokka said sadly. "She's broken. And you're the one who broke her."

"Well... I'm back now," Aang said uncomfortably.

"No, you're not," Sokka growled. "You aren't setting foot inside this city unless you swear you'll tell me when you leave."

"I swear," Aang replied immediately.

Sokka regarded him suspiciously for a second before cracking a smile. "It's good to have you back, Aang," he said, clapping the young Avatar on the shoulder. "Even if you are an idiot, you're still part of the family."

"Thanks, Sokka," Aang said with a smile.

"Hey, where're Appa and Momo?" Sokka asked as they began to walk into the city.

"Oh, they're around somewhere," Aang replied. "I'm pretty sure they're looking for food or-"

"Hey, Sokka, where's Toph? I have to ask her some... thing..."

Aang stopped in his tracks, recognizing that voice. He turned around quickly, and his eyes fell upon Katara. His heart practically stopped and the air left his lungs. Katara had grown up in the past three years. And she was absolutely beautiful. She was frozen in place, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Aang?" she whispered in disbelief. "Is it... really..." She trailed off, unable to continue.

"I'm back," he said quietly. He couldn't believe his eyes. Three years away from her seemed like forever.

"Aang..." she breathed, taking a tentative step toward him. He dropped his staff and moved toward her, stopping when they were a few feet apart. They stared at each other for a moment, not sure what to do. Katara reached hesitantly toward him, jumping when her fingertips touched his cheek. It was as if she hadn't believed he was really there until she touched him.

Aang watched as tears made her eyes shine, but she looked down quickly and blinked them back. When her gaze returned to him, she was smiling. Aang's breath caught in his throat. Her smile was the same as it had been since day one. He smiled back at her, and she closed her eyes as if the sight was too much.

Sokka silently watched the reunion of two lovers with a smile on his face. Of course, they didn't realize they were lovers. Everybody else did, but they didn't.

Aang moved the rest of the distance between them, pulling her into his arms in a fierce embrace. Katara let out a shuddering breath as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He could feel her trembling against him. He himself couldn't contain a shiver as she nuzzled her face into his neck with a sigh. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply, comforting himself with her familiar scent.

Katara pulled back from him slightly, placing her hands on his shoulders and closing her eyes. She rested her cheek against his.

"I've missed you," she murmured.

"I've missed you too," he whispered back.

Aang ran his hands down her back and rested them on her waist, just glad to be close to her again. She sighed, enjoying the contact.

"Are you..." Katara began quietly. "Are you leaving soon?"

"No," Aang replied immediately. "I'm staying here. With you."

Katara hugged him again. "Thank you..."

"I'm sorry," Aang said suddenly.

"Aang..."

"No... I never meant to... I mean I thought you would... be okay..."

"Aang, don't. Please, just... hold on to me, okay?"

"I will."

"Uh, guys?"

The two of them pulled apart quickly, having forgotten Sokka was there. Aang shuffled back and forth on his feet with a small embarrassed smile on his face. Katara just blushed deeply and looked down. She still looked surprised that Aang was even there.

Sokka smiled and looked between them. "Come on," he said, walking further into the city and gesturing for them to follow. "Let's find Aang a place to sleep."

Aang's eyes widened a little when he felt Katara's hand slip into his own. Aang looked over at her in surprise. She smiled softly at him and shrugged a little.

"I just... want to be close to you," she said quietly, blushing a little. "You don't mind do you?"

Aang smiled at her. "Not at all," he replied, squeezing her hand.

Sokka rolled his eyes, grinning knowingly. "Could you guys hold off until you're alone please?"

Aang blushed again, but Katara just glared at her brother. After a moment, however, she smiled a little and stopped walking. Aang and Sokka both stopped and looked at her.

"How about you go look for a place for Aang," Katara said simply. "We have a lot to talk about."

Aang looked at her, startled, but her smile remained in place. Sokka looked at her suspiciously for several tense moments before he shrugged.

"Suit yourselves. I'll find you when I find a place," he said. He turned and walked away, throwing one last glance over his shoulder at them.

Once he was out of sight, Katara grabbed Aang's shoulders and pulled him into another hug. Aang wrapped his arms around her immediately, smiling contentedly.

"What's this for?" he asked quietly after several moments.

"Well... Sokka said to wait until we were alone, right?" Katara pointed out. "And I did say I wanted to be close to you. You said you didn't mind."

"I don't, I don't mind," Aang said quickly. "I was just a little surprised."

Katara backed away from him, looking at him cautiously. "Don't be surprised that I care about you, Aang," she said quietly. "Don't ever be surprised. No matter what happened between us before…"

Aang looked down, ashamed. "Katara, I'm so-"

"Don't," Katara cut him off quickly, moving toward him again and placing her fingers beneath his chin, tilting his face up to look her in the eyes. "Please, don't."

"Don't what?" Aang asked quietly, unnerved by how close she was.

"Don't apologize," she said quietly, pulling herself against him again and laying her head on his shoulder. "Don't give me a reason. Not yet. I… I haven't healed yet, Aang. Three years and five months wasn't enough time to put myself back together…"

"Katara…" Aang said sadly, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Let me finish," she whispered. "I just want to get to know you again, Aang. I don't want to be sad right now… when I should be so happy. Because… I _am_ so, so happy that you're here."

"I'm happy too…" Aang murmured, closing his eyes and resting his head on hers. He heard her sigh and felt her warm breath on his neck, making him smile a little. But at the same time, he couldn't help but think of what Sokka had said to him…

"_You were happy weren't you? Katara was happy."_

"I was happy… then, too, Katara," he whispered under his breath.

"Hm?"

"…I'll tell you later."


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you much for all the reviews! I do appreciate it, though I have no time to reply to all of them._

_Uh... what to say... All of the information in this chapter is as of the end of the second season. And also... there's a lot of shameless flirting. Because shameless flirting is the only kind of flirting I'm good at. And why not?_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar  
_

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CHAPTER 2

Aang and Katara stayed together the rest of the day, wandering the city. Sokka gave up looking for them after he found a place for Aang to stay. He'd see them at dinner anyway.

Everyone in the city was surprised to see Aang, but the real surprise wasn't the sudden arrival of the Avatar. Nobody had seen Katara so happy in more than three years. She was actually smiling. The Water Tribe had missed Katara's smile.

With every comment about seeing Katara's beautiful smile again, and every laughing response from Katara, Aang felt more conflicted. On the one hand, he felt terrible to have caused her such pain that she hadn't smiled in three and a half years. On the other hand, he was amazed that he was the one person who could make her smile again.

But Aang kept these thoughts silent; he was far too busy trying to get to know Katara again. They talked all day as they meandered slowly through the great city of the South Pole. They both spent the morning raving about how much the other had changed in the past years.

"Aang, you've gotten so tall!" Katara laughed helplessly, glancing at their reflection in the canal they were walking beside. She turned to him with a smile. "The last time I saw you, we were eye-to-eye. Now you've got like six inches on me."

"Are you sure you haven't just shrunk?" Aang asked mischievously.

Katara stuck her tongue out at him. "I happen to have grown four inches, thank you."

Aang's eyes lost focus as they traveled slowly from her face down to her feet and back up. "Yeah, I noticed."

Katara's face burned bright red and her eyes widened. She looked around quickly, hoping no one had heard him. "Aang…" she muttered, embarrassed by his… attention.

He laughed nervously and grabbed her hand, pulling her along as he started walking again. "What? I was just agreeing with you. You've definitely gotten… taller."

Katara wished she would stop blushing, but instead the shade of red painted across her cheeks just got deeper. But then she narrowed her eyes and smirked. "What about you?" she asked slyly, looking him up and down just as he had to her. "Are those muscles I see?" The smirk remained firmly on her face as she punched him in the arm.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, feeling himself begin to blush as well. "I've always had muscles…" he muttered, trying desperately to sound indignant.

"And your voice," she practically purred, causing his eyes to go wide. "It seems to have dropped several octaves since we last spoke." He glanced at her in alarm. She was still grinning at him.

"Yuh-uh… yeah, yours too…" he replied with a nervous cough.

Katara tilted her head a little. "My voice? No… it's hardly changed at all," she continued, returning her gaze to the canal. She smirked. "Okay, maybe it has."

"Just a little," Aang muttered, eyes still wide.

Katara laughed, deciding that she had won the game. "Okay, so we've both done a lot of growing up in the past three and a half years," she said simply. Aang nodded, relieved that her attention was no longer focused on him. "But now the question is this: what have you been doing, Aang?"

Aang glanced over as Katara stopped walking. She sat down at the edge of the sidewalk and dangled her legs over the side, toes just barely skimming the surface of the water of the deep canal. Aang sat down beside her.

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

Katara looked over at him with a small smile. "What has the Avatar been up to these years? Where have you been, who have you seen?"

"Well I guess I've been doing my Avatar duties," Aang said simply, focusing intently on the canal. "I went into seclusion for a while to meditate in the Spirit World… and I've been travelling around the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation to clean things up. I had to pay visits to all of the kings and lords and stuff to make sure governments were still in place everywhere." He shrugged. "Just… Avatar stuff. But what about you?"

A blank look passed over Katara's face. "Me?"

"Yeah. What has the Avatar's best friend been up to these years?"

She visibly winced when he said 'best friend.' He noticed.

"Um… well, I taught kids to waterbend for a little while, but…" she trailed off. She had stopped because it hurt her to be teaching waterbending again, because it wasn't Aang. That became a pattern in her life. She couldn't do anything for more than a few weeks, because it reminded her of him. But she couldn't tell him that.

"Um, well I didn't really like it very much. So I've just been doing odd jobs around the city since then. I'm still training with waterbending though. It's the one thing I've been able to stick with all this time," she said, trying to sound lighthearted.

Aang cleared his throat worriedly. "Um… Sokka said that… a lot of guys have… proposed… to you?"

Katara froze, her breath catching in her throat. "Yeah…"

"Oh," Aang fell silent. "…And you turned all of them down?"

"…Yes."

"Oh."

Aang looked over at her. Her eyes were wide again as she stared at the canal. Her hands were clenched tightly on the edge of the sidewalk and she was biting her lower lip.

"Katara?"

She glanced at him. He looked… concerned? Confused? Nervous?

"Why?" he asked quietly.

"Why what?" Katara replied, beginning to feel flustered.

"Why did you turn them down?"

Katara looked down again, opening her mouth to respond. No sound came out. She took a few breaths. "None of them were the right man."

Aang wasn't sure what she meant. "What… were they all jerks or something?"

"No, that's not it," Katara continued uncomfortably. "Most of them were very nice. And handsome. Some were warriors, some were waterbenders, some were rich. Gran Gran couldn't believe I was turning down all of that security. But I don't want security."

Aang shifted nervously. "Then… what do you want?"

Katara sighed, now officially flustered. "Love. The man I marry will be the man I am in love with," she said quietly. "And… well… it would help if he loved me too."

The two of them lapsed into a strange silence. After a minute or so, Katara couldn't stand it, so she got to her feet quickly.

"It's uh… getting kind of cold, sitting in one place. Let's get walking again," she said, offering Aang a hand. He took it and pulled himself to his feet, holding onto it as they kept walking. Katara smiled. He still wanted to hold her hand. Maybe he just wanted to be close to her, too.

The rest of the conversations over the course of the day weren't nearly as tense. They talked at length about what had happened in the lives of their friends.

Sokka maintained flirtatious relationships with several girls over the course of the years, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that he favored Toph over everyone else. She was currently visiting, though she lived in the Earth Kingdom. Aang hadn't seen her yet, but Katara told him that she had grown into quite a catch. And she remained the same strong-willed, stubborn, aloof, world's-greatest-earthbender that she always had been. This left Sokka very, very flustered.

This point was proven around midday, when Katara and Aang saw Toph walking along the other side of the canal, a smirk on her face. Sokka was following her, obviously extremely frustrated.

"I don't get you! Could you just explain what you mean _please?_" he whined.

Toph stopped and turned to him, though she ended up looking a little to his left. She could see rather decently even though they were on ice, because there was solid earth underneath it. But the ice distorted her depth perception slightly. Sokka, who had gotten used to this, moved a little to the left so her white eyes were pointed at him.

"All I said was 'I'll think about it.' Don't have a panic attack, Snoozles," she scoffed, turning and walking away again.

Sokka let out an angry groan and began chasing after her again. "Toph! Come on, just answer the question!"

Aang and Katara watched them until they were out of sight. They shared a glance and started laughing.

"Wow, Toph sure has grown up," Aang commented. "She must be as _tall_ as you now."

Katara shot him a warning glance. He grinned.

"What? She is," he said mysteriously, moving forward again.

Katara stood still, watching him for a moment. She smirked and ran to catch up with him.

Aang began telling her about all of their friends they had met along the course of their journey that he had caught up with while he was doing his Avatar duties. Everything in Omashu was going well. Bumi's health was finally in decline after nearly one hundred twenty years of life, but he seemed very prepared to go whenever it happened. Aang had said his goodbyes, and as was his duty as the Avatar, made sure that there was somebody qualified to take his place.

Katara, of course, saw through Aang's calm, analytical acceptance of the whole ordeal. She stopped walking and turned to face him. He smiled at her, but it wasn't a real smile. She hugged him tightly, right there in the middle of the city, surrounded by people who all glanced over with knowing grins.

"I'm sorry, Aang," she said quietly.

"It's okay, I'm fine," Aang said simply.

"Liar," Katara whispered.

"Katara…"

"He's the only friend you have left from before you were in the iceberg, Aang," Katara pointed out quietly. "I know you. You aren't okay." Aang sighed and nodded a little. "But you will be."

"Yeah?" Aang muttered.

"Yeah," Katara replied. "Because I'm here. And when it's time to let go, I will still be here. Okay?"

"Okay."

She kissed his cheek quickly, and his face burned red. But she pulled back and smiled at him.

"Okay," she said, taking his hand again and resuming their walk.

Haru and his father remained true to their word. They travelled through the Earth Kingdom liberating villages like their own, and after the war, they finally went home. Haru, however, wouldn't be staying home for long, because he'd met a girl in one of the villages they'd freed, and she wanted to see him again.

Jet had not survived his encounter with Long Feng. In his honor, Long Shot and Smellerbee created a lot of trouble in Ba Sing Sei, even after Azula took over. Aang wasn't sure where they were now. The two of them had disappeared shortly after he found them.

Meng had grown up, though she remained Aunt Wu's assistant. She found her big-eared mystery man shortly after the war, and her hair became extremely manageable.

Teo and his father were still living at the Northern Air Temple. They had managed to keep the temple out of the war for a good portion of it, but toward the end, the Mechanists inventions became a prime target. They still controlled the skies, however, so the temple became a fortress, which they held to the very end.

The North Pole was rebuilt, and a statue of Yue was enshrined in the Spirit Oasis. It remained a stronghold through the rest of the war.

Ba Sing Sei changed the most. The Dai Li was disbanded, and the Earth King was placed back on the throne. He formed a parliament to keep him connected to the people of the city, and created a new, not corrupt police force.

The Fire Nation suffered an economic depression after the war. Aang spent nearly a year there, trying to sort things out. He gained a great deal of diplomatic skill during his time there. He formed a sort of grudging friendship with Fire Lord Zuko. They would never trust each other completely, but they became acquainted out of necessity and maintained a truce in which they didn't speak of their history as enemies for the good of the Fire Nation. There were frequent rebellions and riots there over the next year while Zuko tried desperately to maintain control. Aang was forced to intervene constantly.

But things finally settled down in the world after three and a half years. So the only logical place to go was where Katara was. Which, needless to say, made Katara very happy.


	3. Chapter 3

_This chapter is like... Woo, the gang's all here! And then toward the end there is a great deal of repressed sexual tension. Because repressed sexual tension is to sexual tension as shameless flirting is to flirting. Don't ask me, I blame the SAT._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

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CHAPTER 3

The sun had set on the city, and Katara was leading Aang back to her home for dinner. She and Sokka shared a house near the edge of the city. Since they were technically famous heroes now, they liked their privacy. It wasn't a very big house; it had three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a main room. The only luxury Katara insisted upon was a small bathroom to herself. After going through the worst of the war living on a ten-ton flying bison, she had missed her personal hygiene dearly.

When Aang and Katara walked into the main room, Toph was waiting at the door for them.

"Air Head!" she said excitedly.

"Toph!" Aang replied, grabbing her in a hug. She just laughed and elbowed him in the abdomen. He let go of her quickly with an indignant glare that she couldn't see.

"So, you decided to come out of hiding, hm?" Toph said, frowning. "Geez, finally. I thought Sweetness here was going to rot waiting for you to come back."

"Gee, thanks," Katara muttered, glaring. Aang turned bright red and looked at his feet in embarrassment.

Toph burst out laughing. "Cool off, Twinkle Toes, I was just kidding," she snorted. "Come on, Sokka's making dinner."

Aang stared. "Sokka? Cooking?"

Katara laughed a little. "Yeah, I taught him," she said, leading the way into the kitchen. "He said he should learn eventually, considering I wouldn't be around to cook for him forever. Though the topic had never come up until _someone_ mentioned that girls love guys who can cook." She glanced pointedly at Toph, who actually blushed a little and smirked at her.

Before they entered the kitchen, Katara caught Aang's arm. She leaned very close to him. "Just to warn you, he's not very good yet," she whispered in his ear, causing him to shiver.

"Yeah, I can vouch for that," Toph laughed.

Aang nodded silently, still staring at Katara, who hadn't yet leaned away from him.

"Just… be nice, okay?" she said quietly. "You know how well positive reinforcement works."

Aang stared after Katara as she walked into the kitchen with Toph. The way she had said that… he shivered a little. All he knew was that his palms hadn't been sweaty before. He followed her numbly into the kitchen.

"Hey Sokka, what's for dinner?" Katara asked as they entered and sat down on the cushions around the low table.

"Not stewed sea prunes, I hope," Aang muttered.

"Nope," Sokka said proudly, placing four bowls on the table. "Stew! Just like we used to eat during the war."

The three of them looked at their bowls with small smiles. It _was_ just like the old days, having the four of them together again.

"No meat in Aang's or Katara's," Sokka pointed out.

Aang glanced over at Katara, confused. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't you remember?" she asked, smirking. "While you were living here after the war, you bet me I couldn't go without meat for a week. And I did. But I had kind of lost my taste for meat by that time anyway, so I've been a vegetarian since then."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Aang remembered with a smile. "Wow, you still don't eat meat? I'm impressed."

Katara grinned. Toph rolled her eyes. Sokka cleared his throat loudly.

"So, dig in!" he said happily, taking his seat. The room fell silent while they all began eating. Sokka waited apprehensively for them to finish chewing.

"Hey… this is pretty good," Aang said shortly.

"Yeah, Sokka, you actually made something good!" Katara said proudly.

Sokka beamed. He turned to Toph, grinning smugly. "Well?"

Toph swallowed slowly. She thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I've had better," she said simply.

Sokka's jaw dropped. Katara and Aang tried desperately to stifle their laughter.

"Wha- but- you- how- why do you have to do that?!" Sokka shouted angrily. Toph crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. "You've been doing that all week! You think you can mess with me just because you're gorgeous, huh? Well-!" Sokka clapped his hands over his mouth. The room froze. Aang and Katara exchanged a mystified glance. Toph was sitting bolt upright, blank eyes wide in surprise. The room was silent for a good thirty seconds before Toph's expression changed from surprised to smug.

"I knew it," she said simply.

"What? You knew what? There's nothing to know here," Sokka backpedaled wildly.

"You think I'm _gorgeous_," Toph continued, smirk growing ever wider as her eyes narrowed triumphantly.

"I- no- you- but- what are you laughing at?!" Sokka shot a glare at Katara, who finally couldn't restrain her laughter any longer.

"You think she's _gorgeous_," Katara said through gales of laughter. "That's so cute!"

"I didn't say that!" Sokka tried desperately to cover the deep red blush crawling across his face and down his neck.

"Yes you did," Aang laughed.

"We all heard you," Toph added, a blush of her own beginning on her cheekbones.

"Yeah well- I uh…" Sokka stammered. "I've gotta go!" He rushed out of the room.

Toph smiled. "I'd better go check on him," she said after a minute of silence.

"Yeah, you'd better," Katara snickered.

Toph just stuck her tongue out at her and strode out of the room.

Aang laughed. "Wow, who would've thought?" he muttered. He looked across the table at Katara, who was eating her stew with a smile on her face. With a lurch, Aang realized he was alone with her. Sure, they'd been walking around all day, but there were people all around them out in the city. Now, they were really alone. For the first time in three and a half years.

Katara was thinking along the same lines. She felt like she should say something, but Aang beat her to the punch.

"Katara, please, I really want to explain-" he began quickly.

Katara closed her eyes and put her spoon down. "Aang, how much space would you say is between us right now? At this table?" she asked quietly.

Aang looked at her, confused. "Um… a few feet?" he replied.

Katara looked up at him sadly. "No, Aang. There are three years and five months of space between us right now. And I want that space to go away."

Aang's eyes widened, imploring her to understand. "But Katara…"

She sighed and rose to her feet. "I'm kind of tired," she murmured, collecting the bowls from the table and piling them in the washtub in the corner. "I'll go ask Sokka where you'll be staying."

She walked out of the room.

"Go after her," he said dully to himself. "Stop her. Make her listen." He shook his head, exasperated, and got to his feet, following her out the door. He found her standing in the doorway leading onto the street, wide-eyed.

"Katara?" he asked, concerned. He adopted a similar facial expression, however, when he found Sokka and Toph outside the door. Kissing. _Really_ kissing. Aang's mouth fell open.

After several seconds, Toph pulled her lips from Sokka's. "Just so you know, your little sister and the Avatar have been staring at us for a while now," she said calmly between deep breaths.

"Who?" he muttered, dropping his lips to her neck. She laughed a little, surprised, and the sound caused something to clunk into place in his head, suddenly registering what she had just told him. "What?!" He tore his hands from her and jumped back.

Aang and Katara, wearing identical looks of shock, didn't move a muscle. Toph cleared her throat quietly and calmly licked her lips, not panicking at all as Sokka seemed to be. She glanced in his general direction as she wiped the back of her hand across her lips nonchalantly. He was standing several feet away from her, staring between Katara, Aang, and her over and over again with his mouth hanging open.

"It's okay, Sokka," Toph said quietly, no emotion showing on her face. "I get it. You were just… hormonal or something. Whatever. Never happened." Without another word, Toph brushed past Aang and Katara, disappearing into her bedroom. Sokka stared after her, mouth still hanging open.

"Sokka…" Katara began. "Why would you do that?"

"Do what?!" Sokka asked shrilly.

"You shouldn't have kissed her if you were just going to let her go like that," Katara said, a hard edge in her voice. "That's not fair to her."

"I wasn't… trying to…" Sokka began blankly. He suddenly ran forward and shoved past Aang and Katara. "Toph, wait!"

Katara smiled a little. "Much better," she said quietly. "Oh, that's right, we still don't know where you're sleeping," she added suddenly, turning to Aang. She smiled apologetically. "Sorry… Should we go and uh… ask him now?"

Aang stared at her for a second. "No," he said simply, smiling a little.

Katara looked around outside. The city was quiet and dark as people returned to their homes for the night. She thought for a moment, then turned back to him as an idea occurred to her. "Take my room," she said.

"Katara, I can't put you out," Aang said sternly.

"Okay then… sleep with me."

The silence between them was suffocating.

"Sleep… with you…" Aang muttered, face burning.

"You know what I mean," Katara replied, trying to sound indignant though she couldn't help but smile at his reaction.

"Katara, really, I can just go find Appa. He's probably at the stables, I'll just sleep there," Aang said quickly, stifling a yawn.

Katara grabbed his arm and held on, not letting him leave. "Aang you're exhausted," she said. "It's not a big deal, I mean come on, we slept right next to each other by a campfire for almost two years. So what if we're… a little closer?"

Aang's heart was drumming painfully in his chest. "But… what if Sokka finds us? In bed together? It won't look good from his perspective."

"Let me worry about Sokka," Katara said with a smile. "Besides, after what we just saw? I have leverage."

"You're sure you don't mind," Aang said nervously.

Katara rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "Yes, I'm sure, now come on! You're about to fall asleep on your feet." She pulled him toward her door and took a quick look over her shoulder. She could just barely see into Toph's room. She grinned a little. Sokka wouldn't be bothering them. He looked… occupied.

"What's going on?" Aang asked through a yawn, turning to see what Katara was looking at.

"Shh," Katara whispered, pushing him through the door. Aang looked around Katara's room. It was small and simple, with a trunk in one corner containing all of her clothes, a short bookshelf laden with waterbending scrolls and other trinkets, a big furry rug across the floor, and her bed, which looked… a little small for two people.

"Go ahead and get yourself settled, I'll be right back," she said quietly. Aang nodded and sat down on the edge of her bed to pull his boots off. Katara slipped back out the door. She leaned back against the wall, eyes wide and breathing deeply.

"Katara what are you thinking?" she whispered to herself. Her heart wouldn't stop thumping in her ears. "Sleep with me?" She groaned, sliding down to the floor. "Okay… okay, it's fine. Just like I said, no big deal. We used to sleep together all the time… next to each other… but he's so tall now and… handsome…" She groaned again, thumping the heel of her hand to her forehead. "What have I done?"

Katara got slowly to her feet and peeked back into her room. Her heart raced again when she saw Aang on one side of her bed, already fast asleep. She crept into the room and extinguished the lamp, taking a seat on her side of the bed. She watched him as he slept, chest rising and falling slowly with his even breaths.

"Aang?" she whispered. "You awake?" He didn't respond. She sighed and reached hesitantly toward him, fingertips brushing his cheek. "Sleep well, Aang. I don't know… I'm kind of looking forward to waking up next to you." She pulled off her shoes and lied down beside him, pulling the blankets up over herself. It was strange, being so close to him like this after all their time apart. But she fell asleep smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

_The following exchange took me like two hours to write. I rewrote it like ten times. Twas irritating. But I like the final product, so it's all good._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar  
_

* * *

CHAPTER 4

"…Katara…"

Katara woke up several hours later at the sound of her name. She opened her eyes, confused, and found herself to be in her own bed. But… she wasn't alone. Her eyes widened. Someone's arms were wrapped around her waist, holding onto her like a teddy bear with her back to his chest. She looked down at the arms in question and saw… arrows. She sighed, recalling the evening a few hours before. She was distracted, however, by the feeling of something scratching against her abdomen.

Startled, Katara glanced down at his arms again. His hands were clenched tightly against her stomach. She could feel his short breaths on the back of her neck.

"Katara…" he murmured again. She turned in his arms so she was facing him. His face was contorted in anxiety and… fear?

"Aang," she whispered, reaching up to his face. "I'm here. I'm right here."

He pulled her against his chest a little tighter. Katara frowned, worried. She leaned toward him.

"Aang, I'm here," she said quietly, placing a hand on his face and pulling herself up a little further in his arms so they were eye to eye. "Wake up, it's just a bad dream." She didn't have time to think about the position they were in. Oh wait… yes she did.

"Oh…" she whispered, eyes widening. She was in Aang's arms. _Aang's arms._ He was holding onto her. Like… she was all he had. "…Oh." She exhaled slowly and pulled herself closer to him, resting her forehead against his.

"Aang, please wake up," she said insistently, eyes closed.

"…Katara?"

She opened her eyes and found him staring back at her. He looked confused. She smiled a little.

"Sorry… I didn't want to wake you, but you were having a bad dream and you kept…" she trailed off, wondering if she should tell him that he kept pulling her closer in his sleep, holding her tighter, saying her name… "You just seemed kind of upset…"

Aang's eyes never left hers. His face began to redden. "Katara… how long have we been like this?" he asked slowly.

Katara looked away for a moment. "Um… I don't know. I just woke up and you were… holding onto me and I uh…" His eyes widened and he began to move away, but she grabbed the front of his robes, holding him in place. He looked at her, confused. "Um…" she began, casting about wildly for an excuse. She had grabbed him without thinking; it had been a reflex. "I'm uh… kind of comfortable like this."

Aang stared at her, not believing what he was hearing.

"If you're not, you can move," she amended quickly. "I mean I just thought you thought I was… uncomfortable. Sorry. …But I'm not. Uncomfortable, I mean." Katara could have kicked herself. She hadn't babbled away like this since… ever. But they were so close, and his eyes still hadn't left hers, and she could feel his breath on her skin, and… and… oh gosh those eyes…

"I'm comfortable."

Katara snapped back from her thoughts. "You… you are," she said quietly. He nodded silently, eyes still wide. "Oh… good, okay then… we're both… comfortable…"

"Yeah."

And suddenly, in a rush, it really hit Katara for the first time. Aang was back. He was here, with her. He had just disappeared before. She didn't know if he was okay, if he was hurt, if he was sick, if he was… with another girl… And now he was here. With _her_. Because when he didn't know where to go, he came back to her. Three years and five months… was an eternity without him.

She took in the startled look on Aang's face. Why was he startled? Then she felt the tears in her eyes. Oh, that was why. She bit her lip and buried her face in his shoulder, unable to stop the tears. She hadn't cried in so long…

"Aang…" she sobbed. "You're here. You're here…"

"Hey, wait, don't cry!" Aang panicked, doing the only rational thing he could think of and pulling her closer. "Please don't cry Katara… I don't understand…"

"No, you don't," she said quietly between shallow breaths, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "When you left… I was so scared. I didn't know what happened to you. You were just… gone. And for three and a half years, all I knew of you I heard from travelers. And even that wasn't much. But now you're here, and I know you're safe, and…" She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "I've missed you, Aang. I've missed you so much…" Judging by the sharp breaths she was taking, she was still crying.

Aang sighed. "I've missed you too…" he said quietly. "More than you know."

Katara couldn't restrain a sob. With a great wrenching feeling in her stomach, she finally asked the question she had been valiantly avoiding all day. "Then why…" she took a long, ragged breath. "Why did you leave me?"

When Aang heard the question, he wasn't sure if he should be glad he could finally tell her why he'd left, or if he should start crying too, because all of the pain in her voice when she asked him made him want to scream. He sat up and leaned back against the wall, pulling her with him. She kept her head on his shoulder, crying into his shirt.

"Shh… I'll tell you, but you have to hear me out, okay?" he whispered. She nodded silently, shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs. "Okay. Well… after the war was over, everything was going great. For that month I stayed here… I was so happy. Really happy. Because I had a family and a home again, for the first time in about a hundred years. …But I knew I would have to leave, because as the Avatar, I have to keep the world in balance."

"I would have gone with you," Katara whispered. "I would have, and Toph and Sokka would have."

"I know, but… I didn't want you to come."

She pulled away from him, surprised, hurt, confused, and stared at him through teary eyes. "What?"

Aang looked away. "I thought that if I left, you'd forget about me and find a good husband to settle down with," he said quietly. "I just wanted you to be happy."

Katara's mouth was hanging open slightly as she stared at him as though he was crazy. "I was happy!" she replied loudly. "With you! I was happy being where you were!"

"I couldn't give you a home, Katara," he replied just as loudly, getting to his feet and beginning to pace. "I couldn't give you a good life. We'd always be running around because of my Avatar duties."

"I never expected anything more than that from you, Aang!" Katara replied, jumping to her feet and facing him down. "I know that you're the Avatar, I understand the demands of that life."

"I left before we could become anything more than friends so you could move on and get some security!" Aang shot back, now shouting.

"I told you already, I don't want security!" Katara shouted back. "I was waiting-"

"For the right man, yeah I know!" Aang continued yelling. "What if you never find him?! I just want you to be safe! You could be waiting for the rest of your-"

"I was waiting for_ you!_"

Aang's mouth snapped shut in surprise. Katara was breathing heavily, staring angrily at him. Aang didn't look like he was going to say anything, so she sighed in frustration and looked down.

"I'd been falling in love with you since the day we met," she breathed. "Once the war ended, I thought we had a chance. But then you left, and… it absolutely tore my heart to pieces."

Aang's eyes were wide and he looked like he was about to faint. Katara watched him warily. He didn't move for several seconds, so she stepped toward him, looking steadily into his eyes.

"Aang," she said quietly. "I'm in love with you."

There was no sound in the room but their heavy breathing. Neither moved, staring each other down, each waiting for the other to do something.

Katara finally exhaled slowly and looked down. She opened her mouth to say something, feeling tears stinging at her eyes again, but she didn't get a word out.

Aang's lips were pressed ardently against hers. He took hold of the back of her head, pulling her insistently into the kiss. It only took the surprised waterbender about a second to wrap her arms around his neck, steadying herself against the rush of lightheadedness she felt when he touched her.

She sighed contentedly.

Aang pulled away from her for a moment, staying close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin. "Don't you think for a second that I haven't loved you since day one," he said quietly.

Katara closed her eyes, unable to stop smiling. She felt like she would explode, there was such a wonderful feeling growing within her. She didn't have time to respond, because Aang's lips were moving not-so-gently against hers and his fingers were clenching in her hair and his other hand was sliding up her back and she was losing track of all rational thought.

She pulled her lips from his after another several seconds, breathing deeply. "Don't leave again," she murmured breathlessly. "Please… don't leave without me."

"I won't," he replied quietly. "Ever."

"Promise."

"I do, I promise."

Katara sighed again, resting her head on his shoulder. "Good."

Aang smiled. "Come on, you need to get back to sleep," he said quietly.

"I'm okay," she muttered, closing her eyes.

"Let's go," he said with a smile, lifting her up off her feet. Before she had even realized he had picked her up, she was back in her bed snuggled up against his chest. "Good night," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled. "Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

_Before you ask, this isn't the end. There are still two chapters left, so worry not._


	5. Chapter 5

_Okay, important. This chapter is the reason for the T rating. This is because something happens that could easily be construed as dirty if taken out of context. ...Okay, it could easily be construed as dirty in context too, but let's get our minds out of the gutter people. Try not to read too far into it._

_Some of you may recognize the gesture in question from the movie Casino Royale. It wasn't dirty there either, just a kind of intimate little thing. No big._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 5

"Hey Katara, time to… WHAT IS THIS?!"

Aang and Katara were both awakened rather rudely by Sokka's shouting. Katara opened her eyes and found herself looking into Aang's. She smiled, heedless to Sokka ranting and raving at them from the doorway. She couldn't care less, really, considering Aang's arms were so warm around her and he was smiling at her in a way that made her heart flutter in her chest.

"Morning," she said quietly.

"Morning," he replied.

"Are you listening to me?!"

Katara groaned and pulled the blankets up over her head. Aang glanced over at the door, irritated.

"No," he said simply.

Sokka glared murderously. "Get your hands off my sister," he said coldly, taking a threatening step toward the bed.

Aang gulped. Katara let out a frustrated sigh and sat up, pulling Aang up beside her.

"Sokka, would you just cool it? Nothing happened," she snapped. "Aang didn't have a place to sleep because _somebody_ was too busy sucking face with the world's greatest earthbender to tell us if you found a place for him. So he slept with me."

A vein pulsed in Sokka's temple.

"Next to me," Katara growled. She yawned and leaned her head on Aang's shoulder tiredly. "I was sleeping really well, too…" she grumbled. He laughed lightly, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Sokka glared curiously at them. "What's going on here?" he asked slowly.

"Nothing," Katara replied innocently.

Aang hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough that just made Katara laugh instead. Sokka twitched.

"Oh come on, Sokka, you knew this would happen eventually," Katara snapped.

Sokka nodded a little in consent, but he still looked suspicious. "Nothing happened?"

"No, nothing," Aang said quickly, turning bright red at the mere mention. "Honest."

"What about you, big brother?" Katara asked, smirking. "Anything happen with you?"

"No!" he said shrilly before backing out the door. "None of your business!"

Aang stared. "So wait… does that mean something did happen?"

Katara laughed a little. "No. Toph has standards."

Aang smiled, pulling her a little closer. Katara laughed.

"I don't know if I can physically get any closer, Mr. Smooth," she muttered, giving his shoulder a playful shove.

"I beg to differ," Aang scoffed, leaning over and kissing her cheek. She jumped, unable to contain a delighted laugh. His hands found her sides and he started tickling her, dropping his lips to her neck. She laughed even more, blushing furiously and placing her hands flat against his chest in an attempt to push him away.

"Augh, Aang stop!" she shrieked, shaking with laughter.

"You know you like it," Aang replied in a sing-song voice when she finally managed to pull his face away from her neck.

She laughed lightly. "Aang… I've missed you," she sighed, smiling. He stopped struggling against her hands and tilted his head a little.

"I've missed you too," he said quietly, sitting back against the wall.

Katara leaned against his shoulder and took his hand in hers, sliding her fingertips across his palm. It tickled, and he grinned. "I've missed being able to touch you…" She lifted his hand to her face, leaning her cheek against his palm. "To smell you and see you and talk to you…"

"I've missed you too," he repeated, smiling again when she began kissing his fingertips. "We haven't been close like this since…" he trailed off.

Katara remembered it well. "Since right after you defeated the Fire Lord," she whispered.

They both fell silent, thinking back to three years and six months ago. They had been so young…

Katara ran into the throne room. Aang had gone into the room alone quite some time earlier while the rest of them held back the reinforcement soldiers. It had all come down to Aang and Ozai, and now that the soldiers had stopped coming, she could finally go in and help him.

When she stumbled into the huge, dark room, she froze. The Fire Lord was crumpled against the left wall, dead. And in the back of the room, huddled against the wall, was Aang. His knees were drawn up to his chin and his hands were clenched tightly together, his blank stare not even flickering over to her. His robes were badly burned and stained with his own blood, though most of it seemed dry.

"Aang!" she shouted, racing toward him. She skidded to her knees beside him. If she was exhausted, she didn't show it, worried as she was for him. "Aang… are you…" she trailed off, finding the words 'are you okay' to be entirely insubstantial considering the circumstances. She reached toward him to touch him, to pull him to her, to take him into her arms, just to be near him and to know he was alive, but he recoiled from her hand.

"Aang?" she whispered, alarmed.

"You can't…" he muttered. "You're too good… too pure… you can't touch me." He was shivering, and his voice shook.

"What do you mean?" she asked quietly, her breathing becoming quicker as tears of stress and exhaustion and worry and relief and fear and a whole myriad of things threatened to fall.

"I killed him," he said hollowly. He unclenched his fists and looked at his hands. They didn't look any different than usual, though they shook and his wrists looked burned. But he saw something there that terrified him. "I killed someone with these hands."

Katara didn't know what she could do to help him, to soothe him. She felt useless. He hadn't even glanced at her. He knew she couldn't help him.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, and somewhere within her, an instinct kicked in. Not the instinct of a sister or a mother or a waterbender, the instincts built into her that she usually felt the effects of. She suddenly felt the instinct of a partner. A wife. A lover. This was new. This was strange. This was… thrilling. She reached toward him again, ignoring his attempts to prevent her from touching him, and took one of his hands in hers. He shuddered.

"No… you can't…" he began meekly.

Deaf to his protests, Katara held his shaking hand in both of hers and slid his index finger into her mouth. He froze in shock. Her warm tongue soothed his burnt skin as she slid his finger back out, then applying the same attention to the next. Aang felt as though he couldn't breathe, though his gaze still didn't turn to her. She moved slowly and purposefully, cleaning his middle finger, ring finger, little finger, thumb. When she finished, she pressed a kiss to his palm, then to the arrow on the back of his hand, and returned his hand to his knee.

"Better?" she asked quietly. He nodded, hesitantly offering her his other hand. She took it silently, giving it the same gentle treatment. When she was done, she fixed her gaze on him.

"Aang, talk to me," she whispered. "Look at me."

He thought for a moment before glancing over, his haunted stare flicking to her face. Her eyes filled with tears and she lunged toward him, pulling him into her arms. He buried his face in her shoulder, fists clenching against her back, holding her as tightly as he could to the point that it hurt her a little. But she didn't care. She just allowed herself to sink into this… this powerful embrace, this longing for the contact of another. And they remained like that for a long time…

Katara snapped out of her reverie and looked over at Aang. He was staring straight ahead, the same haunted look returning to his eyes. She leaned up toward him and kissed his cheek.

"Aang…" she murmured, kissing his cheek again. "Aang, look at me."

He turned to her, and she smiled a little. "It's okay," she whispered. "I was there then… I'm here now."

"Yeah… it's okay," he muttered, looking down a little.

"Aang, you had no choice," she continued, lifting his hand to her lips again and kissing his palm, letting him know she was still there. "If you hadn't killed him, he would have killed you. And then it wouldn't have been long before he'd have killed Sokka and Toph and me. Then there wouldn't be anything between him and the rest of the world. You had to do it."

"He would have killed you…" Aang murmured. He stopped and looked at her. "I almost killed you."

"What?" Katara quirked an eyebrow, confused.

"When I first got back… Sokka said you were broken."

"Aang… that was just Sokka being-"

"No, it's true," Aang persisted. "You told me yourself you hadn't healed yet. You were still putting yourself back together."

Katara shook her head slowly. "No, Aang, I didn't mean-"

"Everyone in the city said you haven't smiled since I left," Aang said quietly.

Katara opened her mouth to respond, but she found she couldn't defend that one. It was true. She looked down.

He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, kissing her palm as she had done for him just moments before. It tickled, and she couldn't stop the small smile that made its way to her face.

"Sokka told me I took a part of you with me when I left," he continued sadly. "Let me give it back."

"Aang, you don't have to-"

"You healed me then," he cut her off quietly. "I'll heal you now."

She was about to protest again, but then he slipped her finger between his lips and she fell silent. It was such a strange feeling, she thought as a blush rose to her cheeks. Her eyes lost their focus and she felt her breath catch in her throat.

It was then that she realized what an intimate gesture it was, what she had done for him. She had been fourteen, barely out of childhood, when she had taken his hands and cleansed his fingers as he was doing now, three years and six months later.

She was almost embarrassed. He had only just turned thirteen; they were practically children, but she had felt that instinct, that drive to comfort him, to heal him. She couldn't heal him as a friend. Not even a best friend. She couldn't heal him as a sister, a mother, a waterbender. The only way she could heal him was as a lover. And here he was now, loving her in return. It made her feel faint, so she returned her focus to Aang.

His eyes were half lidded, his face relaxed in a kind of calm concentration. He was moving just as she had three and a half years ago, slowly, carefully. She felt his tongue sliding against her ring finger and sighed shakily.

"Aang…" she murmured hazily.

"Shh…" he responded quickly as he moved on to her little finger. She fell silent again, watching him. When he reached her thumb, she opened her mouth to speak again, but no sound came out. He kissed her palm, then the back of her hand.

He glanced up at her with a small smile, locking his gaze onto hers. She lifted her other hand without a second thought. He took it silently and slid her index finger into his mouth. She felt her breath leave her again.

"Aang," she gasped. "What was it like… for you… when I did this?"

"It was…" he began, but he didn't finish, because he moved on to her middle finger. She blushed, waiting for him to finish. "Just what I needed." He moved on to her ring finger. "I could feel myself getting cleaner… like you were taking the blood off my hands." He reached her little finger. "You saved me." Katara felt tears in her eyes. He finished her thumb and kissed her palm. "I'm just returning the favor."

Katara looked at her hands. They didn't look any different, really. Her fingertips were a little red, but that was all. She felt the change more than anything. The pain of the last three years and five months… it wasn't gone, but it was so much lighter. She looked up at him. He was smiling hopefully at her.

"Better?" he asked quietly.

She didn't respond. Instead, she took his face in her hands and pulled his lips to hers. "Thank you," she murmured against his mouth. He smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

_Well, final chapter! I'm glad all you reviewers liked the story; I do too! This chapter isn't the best, sorry. A little short, but I think it's a nice wrap-up. Plus, more Tokka! Haha, that was kind of unintentional in the beginning, but then it took on a life of its own. It fits, at least._

_Well I'm glad you all enjoyed it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 6

"So you finally decided to get out of... OH NOT AGAIN."

Aang and Katara jerked apart, both blushing furiously. Katara hastily wiped her lips on the back of her hand and Aang cleared his throat loudly.

Sokka groaned, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes as though they had been burned. And it was possible they had, after walking into the kitchen to find Aang and Katara making out at the table. They were finally having breakfast, though it was already an hour to noon. They hadn't actually gotten around to eating anything yet. They kept getting distracted.

Toph appeared at the doorway beside Sokka, who was still grumbling and rubbing his eyes. She grinned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So it finally happened, hm?" she asked smugly. She elbowed Sokka. "You owe me fifty gold pieces, Snoozles."

"Beg pardon?" Katara asked coolly.

Toph grinned. "Sokka and I had a bet going," she said simply. Sokka grumbled again. "I bet fifty gold pieces you two would consummate it within twenty-four hours of Aang coming back."

"What?!" Katara blurted out, blushing furiously. Aang choked on the water he was drinking and coughed for several seconds. "There was no con…" She stopped, her face growing hotter with embarrassment. "There was no… consummating going on last night."

"Cool off, guys," Toph laughed. Sokka was no longer grumbling, just glaring. "The bet had nothing to do with you two going at it, I was kidding. I just bet that you'd both confess your undying love to each other within the first day. And ta-da! Judging by the fact that you two have been eating face all day, I can only assume I won."

Aang and Katara glanced at each other. He smiled, and she blushed a little. Sokka sighed heavily.

"Yes!" Toph blurted in triumph, turning on Sokka. "Pay up!"

An idea occurred to Sokka at that point. He moved calmly behind Toph and fastened his hands on her hips, tugging her out of the doorway. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, what are you…" she began, sounding rather more shaken than was usual for her.

"Let's go discuss your payment," Sokka said quietly, smirking and pulling her down the hallway. Aang and Katara exchanged a glance. Toph's delighted laughter rang down the hallway for a moment, then everything was silent.

After several moments, Aang and Katara burst out laughing. When their hysterics quieted, Katara smirked. "So… where were we?" she asked quietly, laying a hand on his shoulder and pulling him closer.

Aang grinned. "I think we were right… here," he replied smoothly, closing the distance between them. When Katara pulled away some time later, smiling contentedly, she tilted her head a little and looked thoughtfully at Aang. He was looking at her in a strange way. A look she had never seen from him before.

Aang was experiencing something new. He was feeling a sense of possession. He was a monk, unattached to material things. Not only that, but he was the Avatar, not allowed to become attached to anything worldly at all.

But Katara… she was different. She was his. For once in his life, he could be selfish. The thought made him smile, and she raised an eyebrow curiously. He just moved forward and kissed her again. She smiled against his lips. In a few moments, she pulled back, looking at him thoughtfully again.

"So… what happens now?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… are we… what are we?" she continued thoughtfully. "I mean… calling you my boyfriend seems kind of… not enough, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" Aang nodded. He looked at her calmly. "Maybe we should get married."

Katara's eyes went wide and she froze. "…Aang?"

"I mean, not right now," he continued, talking as though it was just another topic of conversation. "But we can get engaged or something."

"…Aang…"

"Oh, but I suppose I'll need your father's permission, right? So we'll have to court for a while…"

"_Aang._"

"So I'm not technically your boyfriend, I'm your suitor."

"Aang!"

He smiled at her. "Yes?"

She laughed a little, bewildered. "You… I mean we… but… uh…" she stammered. She stopped for a moment, not sure what to say. "You want to marry me?"

"Yes."

Katara stared at him. "Just… yes? That's it?"

"Yes," Aang said simply, grinning at her. "Is there anything else I need to say? I love you. I want to marry you."

"But… you just got back," Katara stammered. She was still blushing, and she couldn't ignore the feeling that a balloon was inflating in her chest.

"You don't want to get married?" Aang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No, I do! It's just…"

"Good, then it's settled. I'll ask your dad for permission to marry you, and then I'll give you a necklace, and then we'll get married."

Katara opened her mouth to respond, but found she had no comeback. He kept smiling at her.

"Well?" he asked expectantly.

Katara laughed. "Well… okay," she replied, still a little thrown. "I guess we're getting married."

"Really?"

She laughed again. "Yes, really!" He grinned and opened his arms expectantly. She jumped into them with a shout of delighted laughter, throwing her arms around his neck.

"This is going to be one interesting summer," Katara sighed. Aang smiled.

"Or, you know, one interesting life," he said quietly. Katara smiled.


End file.
